Kanji is a combination of characters used to create words and sentences in Japanese. There are over twenty thousand kanji in all, but most people just learn to read between two or three thousand. Kanji can also be combined to form new words. Before kanji was brought over from China, the Japanese had no formal writing system. Upon seeing this, the Japanese adopted it and it became an integral part of their language and their culture. Japan also has two additional scripts that must be used to fully form its written language; these are known as hiragana and katakana. The Japanese language is exceptionally difficult to learn because of the many different variations in the script. With the two thousand kanji that people are expected to know, they must also combine the 46 syllables that each hiragana and katakana possesses to fully make up the written language. The Japanese language makes the roman alphabet’s twenty-three letters seem like a piece of cake!

Kanji is portrayed throughout almost every anime and has become almost something that we, as viewers, ignore. Seen on books, in shops, and in schools, kanji can be seen almost anywhere. As prominent as our own alphabet, Japanese children must learn to write kanji from a young age as well has remember thousands of kanji in combination with its counterparts, hiragana and katakana. Kanji can also be seen in untranslated manga which adds to the beauty but amplifies the confusion. Popular anime such as Noragami, Pokemon, Steins;Gate and Ouran High School Host Club all contain examples of kanji throughout the anime. While many of us cannot read this kanji when it appears, it is quintessentially Japanese and its presence makes anime all the more enjoyable and true to Japanese culture.